The Saga of Boogers and Snot

Here's what we all have a distaste for, but hardly have a sound knowledge of. It's awful, disgusting, unpleasant but not harmful at all. We share some information about this in our first blog.

Suppose you are travelling by metro, and have totally been enchanted by the statuesque beauty, seated next to you, wholly absorbed in reading a novel. Hesitating for ninety-nine times, as you muster up courage and are about to start a conversation by asking her, “Excuse me, may I know your name?”, lo and behold, she does what you hate in the world the most after Chemistry. Caring least for social acceptability, she runs her fingers into the nostrils and starts digging it up. NOSE-PICKING!!! Ew. Disgusted, as you are about to turn your head, you witness one of the most nauseous scenes: she is absent-mindedly eating up what she has just excavated out of her nose. Somehow, you control your urge, and get down from the train as it stops at the next station.

But what exactly are boogers which have drawn such a tragic conclusion to your cherished dream? Believe me or not, they are very innocent and non-toxic. To get an idea of what boogers are, you are required to know about mucus (or what is commonly known as snot). Once you get a cold, it may feel like a bummer. However, snot by itself is a wonderful material. Though all of us generate similar slippery stuff in every part of our body, including lungs, guts, and even private parts, snot is the mucus that comes out of our noses. Anyhow, like a never-exhausted machine, we tend to manufacture a lot of these things. Interesting fact: if you are healthy, you can produce about 1.5 liters of mucus per day—and yes, it is right inside your nose. 

You would be surprised to know that the whole of this ‘sticky phenomenon’ is very crucial for our survival. Snot is one among our initial lines of the physical defensive mechanism, as about 80% of the air inhaled is filtered within the nose. This slimy substance keeps us healthy and sound by moistening our delicate organ tissues, warming the air we breathe, and also trapping tiny things, like dust, dirt, germs, and pollens which cause irritation or infection in us. Therefore, as you breathe in, all the damaging particulates or dust specks, which would have got inside your body otherwise, get stuck to the mucus traps.

So, how does it exactly function? It is indeed interesting. Unique kinds of cell-line, known as ‘goblet cells’, are lined up within our nasal membranes. These cells manufacture proteins called ‘mucins’. Speaking in details, mucins have two unique features:

(1) they are long-chain proteins which are efficient in linking up with each other,

(2) they undergo glycosylation, to stay connected to a variety of sugar groups.

All these characteristics have a huge significance as this sugar coating is capable of absorbing lots of water. That is why mucous is 95% of water in terms of its content.

In case any bacteria or viruses are caught into the snot, antimicrobial agents present in the mucus, such as lysozymes come into play by wiping them out. In this task, antibodies also do not remain quiet; they rather employ immune cells to have the intruders licked the dust, so to say. That is why perhaps some doctors claim that nose-picking and eating the internal stuff could, in fact, be helpful for the immunity system.

But what happens as you get sick? A runny and stuffy nose implies that germs have broken into the mucotic defense. So, the body starts producing more and more mucus to wash the pathogens out. As the commander-in-chief, it sends in a large number of immune cells to the infected area to fight against the intruders. In the course of this entry of immune cells, the nasal passages may develop inflammation. In particular, to keep the breathed-in air warm in the nasal passageway, the shell-shaped networks of bones and tissue, called the nasal conchae, inflame, creating troubles for breathing. Therefore, generally, it is nasal inflammation, not so much by the overproduction of snot, which causes congestion. You may have heard of sinuses which are basically mucus-producing air pockets in the facial bones. As one catches a cold, the sinus membranes may swell, trapping mucus and air, thereby causing headaches.

But wait a minute. We kept talking about snots. How is it related to boogers? You would be amazed to know that boogers are simply dried up snot. Like it or not, all day, we have a steady flow of mucus through the nasal passages. As the specks get trapped inside the nasal passages, the mucus encloses them. There are some cells inside the nose wall with hair-like projections sticking off of them. Now here comes the grossest of all! These tiny hair-strands, known as ‘cilia’, help carry the accumulated mucus and the trapped matter toward the foreside of the nose or the backside of the throat, when you gulp it down. Yes, you read the bit right. You swallow the most of the snot you generate on a daily basis, without even realizing it. When the mucus, dust, and other remains get dried and clump together, boogers come into existence. These boogers can be soggy and slimy, or hard and flaky, and everyone gets them naturally.

Anyway, what we see is that while a stuffy and runny nose may be a pesky experience and the sight of your loved one picking nose in search of ‘treasure’ may be distasteful for you, you must admit that it is a good sign that your bodies are doing well in protecting you from enemies. So, I am sure after reading this, next time you get a sniff, you would be more generous in appreciating your phlegm a bit more. By the way, never miss the next bus out of disgust. Best of luck!

#boogers #snot #science #mucus #disgust #nosepicking